TEDxNCSSM was the first TEDx event hosted by a high school in North Carolina. NCSSM's mission to "inspire innovation for the betterment of humankind, through challenging residential, online, summer, and virtual learning driven by instructional excellence and the excitement of discovery" is in perfect alignment with TED values; this school is a place where students exemplify innovation and inspired thought daily. This year, the "Resistance" themed conference will feature talks by Tania Katan, Ankesh Madan, Vanessa Woods, and current students Kimberly Andreassen and Jessica Yao. Audience members will include local high school students, NCSSM students and faculty, and other distinguished guests from around North Carolina. TEDxNCSSM hopes to foster a place for discussion, inspiration, and the sharing of ideas destined to impact the future.
Speakers
Speakers may not be confirmed. Check event website for more information.
Ankesh Madan
Executive at Undercover Colors
Madan is the co-founder and former Chief Science Officer of Undercover Colors, a company dedicated to reducing the rate of drug-facilitated sexual assault. Under development is a nail polish that changes color when it comes into contact with date rape drugs. Madan, an alumnus of the North Carolina School of Science and Mathematics, graduated with a BS from North Carolina State University in Material Science and Engineering. At NCSU he worked as a research assistant in the College of Textiles to develop filters using nanoparticle-thin-films. As an intern at the Center of Innovation for Nanobiotechnology, Madan worked in conjunction with the NC Department of Commerce to create a database of nanotech companies in North Carolina. Currently, Madan is a Fellow in the Duke Angel Network while he is pursuing a Master’s degree in Mechanical Engineering and Materials Science at Duke University.Jessica Yao
Student
Jessica Yao is a senior at the North Carolina School of Science and Mathematics. She is currently undergoing the college application process in the hopes of obtaining degrees that will one day be useful. She works as a research assistant under the instruction of Dr. Dan Ariely and Chang Yuan Lee at Duke University’s Fuqua School of Business Center for Advanced Hindsight. Here, she explores a variety of social phenomena in the field of behavioral economics including risk taking, irrational decision making, and social preferences. Her current project explores visual and perceptual biases in the ambiguous race face illusion. Jessica is passionate about academic research and social activism, and enjoys writing about relevant social issues. At school, she participates in student government, performs with various musical ensembles, and is co-captain of the school ethics bowl team. She plans to study economics and public policy and hopes to join multiple a cappella groups in college.Kimberly Andreassen
Student
Kimberly Andreassen is currently a senior at the North Carolina School of Science and Math. Being that Kimberly is a teen, she does not have any degrees or even a major, but she currently torn between studying entomology, policy, or Latin American Studies when she finally goes off to university. At NCSSM, Kimberly spends her time working with the student government, playing trombone in school ensembles, doing research in biology, and running an independent zine that focuses on the experiences of people with mixed identities. Her research project was completed on studying the relationship between urban tree pests and climate change.Tania Katan
Author + Creative instigator
Tania Katan is an award-winning author and creative instigator who believes in storytelling at all costs. Katan has performed her stories at the Edinburgh Festival Fringe, NPR Snap Judgment, TEDx, Comedy Central Stage, and more. Her work has been written about in Huffington Post, TIME, BuzzFeed, The New York Times, GLAMOUR, and others. She has been a featured speaker at Business of Software, i.d.e.a. Museum, S.H.E. Summit, and other national and international conferences and events. Katan’s creative instigations include Arm Wrestling for Art and the internationally viral campaign #ItWasNeverADress. Formerly the Curator of Performing Arts at Scottsdale Museum of Contemporary Art, Katan made the audacious leap into technology and is the Curator of Code at Axosoft, because every rock star company needs a punk! She is currently working on a book about sneaking creativity into all the nooks and crannies of our lives.Vanessa Woods
Author + Research Scientist + Journalist
She is the author of the New York Times Bestseller The Genius of Dogs (Dutton 2013), and Bonobo Handshake (Gotham 2010), which won the Thomas Lowell Award for non fiction. In 2007, Vanessa's children's book, It's True: Space Turns you into Spaghetti, won the Acclaimed Book award from the Royal Society. In 2005, Vanessa won the Australasian Science award for journalism. Vanessa has written 7 books that have been published in 12 languages.Vanessa has written hundreds of popular science articles and has written for The Wall Street Journal, The Huffington Post, National Geographic, New Scientist and BBC Wildlife. Currently a Research Scientist at Duke University, since 2005, Vanessa has worked in the Democratic Republic of Congo studying bonobos, and the People's Republic of Congo studying chimpanzees. Vanessa is interested in comparing the cognition of bonobos and chimpanzees, and learning what bonobos can tell us about becoming a more peaceful species.Organizing team
